ADVANCED

ADVANCED MACHINERY
MACHINERY COURSE
COURSE
GEARS
GEARS
AM-Gears 1
 Gears
This Module will cover:
• Gear nomenclature
• Gear design
• Materials
• Ratings
• Standards
• Testing
• Gearbox lubrication
• Repairs
• Failures & Failure Terminology

Much of the following material is courtesy of

INDUSTRIES, INC.

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 Gear Tooth Loading
Patterns

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 Gear Tooth Meshing
• Gear teeth slide into mesh, then roll, then
slide out of mesh
• Need to lubricate to prevent metal-to-metal
contact
• Need to provide hardness to resist
alternating stresses applied during load
transfer
• Need to provide strength to resist bending

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 Gear
Thrust

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 Pinion
Deflections &
Longitudinal
Corrections

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 Tooth Alignment Modification
The intentional deviation from the theoretical
helix angle to compensate for deflections.

Types:
– End Ease Off
– Tooth Alignment

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 End Ease Off

• Applied to ends of helix to reduce the

concentrated end loading
• Standard Practice is 0.0006 inch applied at
each end for about 8% of helix length

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 Tooth Alignment
• Alignment modification involving a substantial
portion of the helix
• When used:
– Total uncorrected deflection exceeds 0.001 inch for
through hardened and 0.0007 inch for carburized
– Calculated Load Distribution Factor, Cm >1.6
Cm = peak load / average load
• Amount of correction - about 50% of total deflection
• Length of correction - usually 50% of total helix
length

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 TYPICAL TOOTH ALIGNMENT CHART

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 Example of Tooth Alignment Modification
Turbine / Gearbox / Compressor Drive
– 50,000 Transmitted Hp
– 4,670 RPM turbine speed
– 9,600 RPM compressor speed
– Proposed Gear Unit: NF2019D

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 Deflection Analysis

Uncorrected Tooth Deflections

Load Distribution Factor (Cm) = 1.48
Deflection, microinches

1200
Bending
800 Deflections
400 Torsional
Deflections
0
Combined
-400 Deflections
-800
-1200
0 5 10 15 20 25
Width Along Helix From Blind End
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 Load Analysis

Uncorrected Tooth Loading

Load Distribution Factor (Cm) = 1.48
2350
2150
Load, lbs/in.

1950
Tooth
1750
Loading
1550
1350
1150
950
0 5 10 15 20 25
Width Along Helix From Blind End
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 Load Analysis

Tooth Loading With End Ease Off

Load Distribution Factor (Cm) = 1.40
2100
1900
Load, lbs/in.

1700
1500 Tooth
Loading
1300
1100
900
700
500
0 5 10 15 20 25
Width Along Helix From Blind End
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 Load Analysis

Tooth Loading With Tooth Alignment

Load Distribution Factor (Cm) = 1.17
1800
1600
Load, lbs/in.

Tooth
1400 Loading
1200
1000
800
600
0 5 10 15 20 25
Width Along Helix From Blind End
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 Surface Hardening
• Induction / Flame -Produces quenched layer
on the surface of a quenched and tempered
part with higher hardness.
• Carburizing - Produces a composite material
high carbon high hardness surface layer,
strong, ductile, low carbon core
• Nitriding - Produces a hard nitride surface with
a strong, ductile, low carbon core

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 Surface
Hardening

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 Alert on High Energy Gear Failures
• Core fracture of carburized
gears ≥ 20 inches (508 mm)
in diameter with PLV ≥
30,000 fpm (9,144 mpm)
• Materials of AISI 4320 &
18CrNiMo7-6
• Gear over-stress
– Centrifugal stresses due to
rotation
– Transient thermal stresses
developed during start-up
– Residual stresses developed
from Q & T during fabrication

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 Specifying High Energy Gears
• Consider AISI 9310 material with max. sulfur level
of 0.012 wt. %
– Adequate sulfur to facilitate machining, but low enough
to ensure acceptable toughness
• Min. Charpy toughness of 38 ft-lbs with a min.
shear of 80% at the lowest operation temperature
• Consider Fracture Toughness
• Shear wave UT inspection procedure
• Mechanical testing
– 110% of MCS (API)
– Overspeed conditions as specified
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 Compact Tension Specimen

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 Test Rig

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 What does $83,000 worth of steel look like? HUGE RISK!!

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 Comparison of Three Different Designs
1500 / 12900 RPM, 34200 HP, API 1.6

• Carburized – NF4319D, 78 inch diameter X

20 wide, 100% cost (distortion problem)
• Carburized and nitrided – NF4619D, 83
inch X 25 wide, 105% cost (hard to grind)
• Double reduction – NDF4919D, 48 inch X
25 wide LS, 125% cost (complicated
machine)

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 Applicable Gear Standards

Standard Title Applicability

Critical services (typically un-
API 613 Special Purpose Gear Units
spared equipment)

General Purpose Gear Non-critical services (typically

API 677
Units spared equipment)
Helical gear units with pinion
speeds > 4000 rpm or where
AGMA 6011 High Speed Gear Units
gear tooth PLV > 6500 fpm (33
mps)

Lower speed helical, spur and

AGMA 6010 Design for Spur, Helical,
bevel gears with speed
Herringbone, and Bevel
( Now 6013) limitations up to 4500 rpm and
Gear Drives
PLV < 7000 fpm (35 mps)

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 Mechanical Rating
• Common Definition
– “Catalog” power rating
– AGMA power rating level that gearset rates at 1.0 SF
– Lowest of two calculated power ratings
• API Definition
– Gear unit rated power multiplied by specified gear SF
• All gear-tooth standards recognize the difficulty in
maintaining equal loading across the width of a
gear tooth
– Pinion shape limits via API L/d ratio limits

API requires gear units are sized on the basis of a Tooth Pitting Index,
called a K Factor
Note: API & AGMA definitions & rating criteria vary significantly

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 API Tooth Pitting Index
⎡ W t ⎤ ⎡ R + 1⎤
K = ⎢ ⎥⎢ R ⎥
⎣ dF w ⎦⎣ ⎦
SI Units: US Units:

W =
[
t
(1.91 × 10 )P ] 7
g
Wt =
126,000Pg
N pd Npd
Where:
K = Tooth pitting index, pascals (psi)
Wt = Transmitted tangential load @ operating pitch diameter, newtons (lbs.)
Fw = Net face width, mm (in.)
d = Pitch diameter, mm (in.)
R = Number gear wheel teeth / number pinion teeth
Pg = Gear unit rated power, kw (hp)
Np = Pinion speed, rpm

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 API Allowable K Factor
Im
Ka =
SF
Where,
Ka = Allowable K Factor
Im = API Material Index (API Table 4 & Figure 3)
SF = API Service Factor (API Table 3)

Service Factor (SF) is applied to the tooth pitting index and bending
stress and depends on the characteristics of the driver and the driven
equipment. It accounts for differences in potential overload, shock load
and/or oscillatory torque characteristics

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API STD 613

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 API STD 613

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 API STD 613

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 Comparison of API 613 to AGMA 6011

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 Gear Finish Quality & Accuracy
(rms, micro-inches)
Hob 140 (3 DPN) - 60 (10 DPN)
Grind 20
Shave 15
Hone 5
CBN Grind 10

ExxonMobil GP 10-10-01 requires that unplated tooth surfaces on loaded

faces of completed gears have a finish, as measured along the pitch line, of
0.51 micrometers (20 micro-inches) Ra or better.
RATIONALE: Decreasing the surface finish from 32 (API) to 20 rms Ra cuts
the gear surface finish factor in half and directionally doubles the tooth pitting
resistance. Modern gear manufacturing machine tools can readily produce a
20 micro-inch finish at no or low added cost.

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 Gear Test Configurations
• Spin, no load, full speed
• Partial load, full speed
• Full load, full speed
• Full torque, reduced speed
• Locked torque
• Full torque - Static test

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 API 613 Basic Testing
• No load spin test
• Test time: 4 hours @ full speed & 15 min. @ overspeed
• Oil inlet temperature, pressure & flow
• Oil outlet (drain) temperature
• Bearing temperatures
• Shaft vibration, amplitude filtered & unfiltered
• Housing vibration
• Sound level
• Verification of lateral critical speed
• Internal inspection after testing
• Optional testing as specified (ref. API 613)

AM-Gears 64
 Gears Depend on Full Oil Film Separation

• Wear resistance of teeth

• Bearing performance
• For optimum performance oil must be:
– Properly selected
– Directed where it’s needed
– Work after many hours of operation
– Clean & cool
• ISO 4406 19/17/14

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 How Gear Units Lubricate
• Splash systems
– Units require troughs for bearing lubrication
• Pressure systems
– Gears are sprayed
• Into mesh for lubrication
• Out of mesh for cooling
– Bearings are pressure fed
– Units require pumps & coolers for proper
operation
– Oil pans and false bottoms

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 Splash Lube System

• Gear dips in oil and

lubricates teeth
• Oil splashes
violently inside case
• Troughs catch oil
and direct oil to
bearings

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 Pressurized Lube System

• Oil pump
• Filter
• Cooler
• Pressure control
valve
• Pressurized
passages
• Sprays

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 Types of Gear Repair

• Replacement gear set

• Re-cutting
• Re-grinding (“kiss” grind)
• Lapping
• Re-rimming

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 Replace Gear Set

• Most expensive option

• For a single reduction unit, cost is ~ 60% of
new gear unit
• For a double or triple reduction unit, cost is
~ 75% of new gear unit

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 Re-cutting

• Short lead time

• Re-cut gear and
new pinion
• ~ 40% of cost of
a new gear unit

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 Re-grind (“Kiss” Grind)

• No new parts
required
• ~ 20-25% of cost
of a new gear unit
• Will increase
backlash

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 Re-rimming

• High cost
• Long lead time
• Only have to make one
part
• Can change gear ratio
(2 new parts required)

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 Lapping

• Least expensive
option
• Too much lapping
can destroy tooth
profile

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 Design Practices and Standards
Industry Standards
• API 613 – Special Purpose Gear Units for Petroleum, Chemical and
Gas Industry Services
• API 677 - General Purpose Gear Units for Petroleum, Chemical and
Gas Industry Services
• ISO 6336 - Calculation of Load Capacity of Spur and Helical Gears
• DIN 3990, Part 21 - Calculation of Load capacity of Cylindrical Gears;
Application Standard for High Speed Gears and Gears of Similar
Requirement
ExxonMobil Engineering Practices (EMEPS - Global Practices)
• GP 10-10-01 Special Purpose Gear Units
• GP 10-10-02 General Purpose Gear Units
Machinery Appraisal Manual

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 Selected References
• Lufkin Gear Engineering School Manual

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 ANSI / AGMA 110
Nomenclature of Gear Tooth Failure
Modes

ANSI / AGMA 1010

Appearance of Gear Teeth-
Terminology of Wear and Failure

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 Gear Wear Regimes
Gear torque Capacity

Tooth
Breakage
Pitting

Wear
Scoring

No wear
(If oil clean)

Pitch Line Speed

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 Frosting
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 Destructive Pitting
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